#RIPRodneyKing – “Why can’t we all just get along?”

Rodney King was made famous more than 20 years ago when his beating by the Los Angeles police was caught on camera and aired on television. After four of the officers charged with excessive assault were acquitted the next year, the infamous L.A. riots broke out, using King as a symbol of the need to build better race relations.

Only 47 years old, King was found dead in his swimming pool in California yesterday. His fiancee, Cynthia Kelly, made the 911 call at 5:25 a.m. The cause of death — believed to be accidental drowning — is still under investigation.

King was known for asking the simple and profound question, “Why can’t we all just get along?” After his death was announced, many took to Twitter to mourn the “countercultural hero” and send his famous question into cyberspace.